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The Jersey Cousins come to San Jose

When we decided to sell our house and hit the road on our big adventure, we knew that there would be plenty of trade offs. We’d have to sacrifice something in order to gain something else. One of those trade offs was seeing the northeast cousins on a regular basis. Luckily we have been able to sneak home for the Holidays and keep relations strong and this week some of those cousins came to see us in Baja.

Air travel with three kids under age 7 is something that requires effort, commitment, and above all else dollars. Add to that the idea of flying to Mexico and most people simply can’t justify the pain, regardless of the potential reward. We fully understand and appreciate this situation and were pleasantly surprised when Marcy’s sister Megan and her husband Brett began to plan a family trip. This week they arrived in San Jose for a week of fun in the sun.

We rolled up to the airport in Brienne, five people on board (four Duvals and Regina) and looking to pack in another five with luggage. No problem…at least not in Mexico. From there we headed to the rental house where we settled in for some margaritas and pool time. The kids skipped the margaritas, but doubled up on the pool time.

Since Regina’s trip overlapped with the Newirth gang by one day, we decided to explore downtown San Jose on Sunday before Reg had to leave for Cali. Town was pretty quiet, but the ice cream still tasted great to the kids. Compared to La Paz, San Jose feels very upscale and touristy, but compared with Cabo San Lucas, it’s a nice little Mexican city.

On Monday, Brett and I headed out for a morning fishing excursion with Pancho. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be on the water. We were quickly into fish, but the sea lions were eating our catch faster than we could reel them in. Brett’s opinion of sea lions quickly changed after his third fish was consumed while he retrieved it. We moved to a less infested spot and Brett quickly put several pargo into the boat. Then I added a tuna after a good fight. As the current picked up the fishing dropped off so we shifted gears and trolled some bait. We missed one wahoo and landed another. We both forgot sunscreen in the morning but I at least have a little base layer to work from. Brett looked like a red snapper by the time we hit shore, but nothing a few cervezas couldn’t take care of.

Tuesday we hit Playa Modano for the full tourist beach experience. I prefer the remote beaches found elsewhere in Baja, but it’s fun to simply take in the spectacle of Madano.

Wednesday found the Fink sisters fully immersed in a cooking class at Los Tamarindos restaurant. Marce and Meg spent five hours creating and consuming a five course meal. (And maybe a few margaritas too)

The week ended too soon with lots more beach and pool time mixed in with some great meals. We truly enjoy our time with Meg and Brett and look forward to seeing them in NY this June.